Graveyard Dirt

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I've put together these songs with the intention that they will guide you through a night of seduction and witchcraft. Picture a man, in the spooky southern states where magic still thrives. A night of debauchery that turns dark.

We start with the big brass, New Orleans-style horns of "This Devil's Workday" by Modest Mouse. It sounds like a party, doesn't it? Is it meant to entice or to foreshadow? Is this song told from the man's perspective now, or someone else's? Either way, the lyrics are certainly eerie and Isaac Brock’s wail sounds unhinged. Meanwhile, the tune marches on.

"Bloodletting" is a song about seduction, one that Concrete Blonde doesn't seem particularly interested in resisting. Johnette Napolitano sings that she might forget the light, and that's what I want you to feel too.

In "Bad Things" by Jace Everett, assume you're the one being seduced. He's not sure why, but he's sure he'll do whatever this woman wants him to. This song makes us feel a rush from giving into your shadow selves. I can picture the bar in which the woman in the song he’s singing about enters.

The next two songs are warnings. Sleep with one eye open we are told, sung by real-life witch Florence + the Machine. There's trouble up ahead says the timeless Halloween classic "Bad Moon Rising.”

“The Devil Wears a Suit and Tie” by Colter Wall is a catchy folk number from which we can glean that our protagonist did not heed the warnings. Instead, he’s paid a terrible price -- the price of his soul.

Norma Tanega comes through next telling us, “you’re dead and out of this world” in a chant-like way. I picture creatures of Hell taunting our Poor Soul with this chorus as he succumbs to the Devil and his witches.

This song is the turning point in the playlist, and we’re about to take a turn to learn about the witches who have seduced the Protagonist. Let’s travel back a little bit, to before the night in question. First, we get introduced to the Swamp Witch to further set the scene and connect us back to the New Orleans sounds of the first song.

Lana Del Rey confirms for us that it is, in fact, the Season of the Witch. This song steers us away from the dance-y folk and rock in the first half of the playlist. Instead we are diving into deeper, more soulful and haunting melodies.

Florence makes another appearance here. Honestly, I could have built a witch-themed playlist using her music alone. She sings a tale of defiance, presumably from the perspective of a sorceress. The lyrics are of fire and trials, of chains and shackles, which harken us back to the colonial times of the Puritans and the Salem Witch Trials. Perhaps this song provides evidence into what drives a witch to rebel and destroy.

PJ Harvey then sings a spooky tale of a lost girl down in the water. Did she drown her daughter on purpose? I think of this as another song of motive. Maybe this is what caused the witch to lose her mind and become involved with dark magic. She seems to want to bargain the life of one girl for that of her daughter. It ends with PJ whispering a child’s rhyme, could it be a spell? Repetitive whispering will forever be a creepy thing to listen to.

A Theremin can be heard in the chilling next song by Mirah, which, to me, is the ultimate in spooky sounds. It also reminds one of carnival music, another trope in Halloween imagery. The “lalala’s” sound enticing, entrapping, like you could fall into a trance listening to it…

“DOA” by Bloodrock brings us startling back to the present night. It’s sung by a dead man presumably, and we’re left to wonder if it’s our Protagonist lying dead or did he do the killing? What have the witches forced him to do?

Screamin’ Jay Hawkins hops on the microphone next to let us know that he has put a spell on you! On us? On the man? Either way, a spell has been cast. In this tale, my view is that the Devil and the witches are working together to trap the Protagonist. Not to mention it’s a fun Halloween classic despite the scary message.

Finally, I’ve left you with a second song called “Bad Things.” This song ties up the tale nicely for me. He’s by a river, just as there was a river sung about in “This Devil’s Workday.” I also like that this song shares a title with the one earlier, that makes bad things sound sultry and attractive. The Protagonist admits soulfully and painfully that he done a bad thing and was taken over by the Devil last night. This song also returns to the folk/southern rock sounds earlier in the playlist.

This final song solidifies that there is no going back… unless you put the playlist on repeat.